The Do’s and Don’ts of Roleplaying || Lit Team

When it comes to roleplay, we want what is best for our characters and their interactions with others. We want them to fit in the best possible way. But when doing so, sometimes we get carried away.

So whether you’re just getting into roleplay or are currently looking to further practice your roleplay skills, here are the Do’s and Donts of roleplaying made by the Lit Team!

My apologies if anything is repetitive!

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These tips are from Manager Mikasa

One of the first things anyone will tell you about roleplay is not to be a Mary (or Gary) Sue. But, what does that mean exactly? Mary/Gary Sue is defined as originally “a type of character who is depicted as unrealistically lacking in flaws or weaknesses.” In the AOT universe, being a Mary/Gary Sue would be a character who easily gets all of the Titan kills and always wins hand to hand combat

this is an example of what not to do:

Annora killed 10 titans in a row, not even exhausted after achieving such a feat.

And this is an example of how not to be a Mary/Gary Sue:

Annora stared at the giant Titan, her blades clutched in her hands. ing her training, the ravenette used her gear to grappled onto a tree and then to the Titan’s shoulders, blades at the ready before slicing the giant’s nape. The girl landed safely on the ground before looking up to see more titans slowly approaching, taking a deep breath— sweat rolling down her chin— the teen glared at them before watching other cadets her in the fight.

Another key element to properly roleplay is to not have choppy sentences. These are sentences that, instead of having separations with punctuation marks, are run on and feel like 20 sentences in one. This usually makes other roleplayers feel like the responses are just chopped off together, and not very appealing

Here is an example of what not to do:

Annora looked at herself in the mirror after putting on her clothes a red shirt and blue jeans she thought the shirt looked bad so she changed it to a white and purple one the girl ran down the stairs and went to school with her backpack she then entered the classroom and attended class

And here is the same example, but with separations:

Annora looked at herself in the mirror after putting on her clothes: a red shirt and blue jeans. She thought the shirt looked bad, so she changed it to a white and purple one. The girl ran down the stairs and went to school with her backpack. She then entered the classroom and attended class.

Thanks for reading! I hope these tips helped you improve your roleplaying uwu

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These tips are brought to you by Levi

Do: Be descriptive! You’ll find that your roleplay is much more interesting when you add description. It is also a lot easier for your partner to reply to you! Try using these: Emotions, surroundings and others. For example:

{Your Character} waited anxiously on the rocky surface of Wall Maria, that had once collapsed due to a titan breach several years ago. Until now, no one had dared go near these walls. In fear of being eaten alive. {Your Character} had these exact feelings right now, a rush of adrenaline coursed through their veins, and a butterfly flock of anxiety fluttered in their stomach. This could be it, this could be the day that they took their final breath.

Don’t: Try to avoid one liners as much as possible. It makes it very difficult for your partner to respond, and you can sometimes end up with a “Dry Roleplay”. For example:

{Your Character} walked into the room, and sat down across from Levi.

As you can see, it doesn’t have the same affect as the previous one- does it?

Another “Do” is: Be realistic! Make sure that everything you do makes sense. For example:

{Your Character} was standing on a roof, surrounded by titans. In a moment of sheer terror, they began to frantically search for a way out. Or any form of salvation. The footsteps got heavier as they drew ever closer to {Your Character}. Giving up hope, they just collapsed in a fit of tears on the roof- but then- a familiar wiring sound of the ODM Gear could be heard. A large crash followed as one of the titans fell to the ground. Who was there to save them?

Another don’t is: Don’t be Unrealistic/Over Powered. An example of this is-

{Your Character} was stood on a roof, surrounded by titans. But they weren’t scared. They simply killed them all in one swift hit.

It’s not very fun for your partner when you are Unrealistic, or Over-Powered. Try to not do this!

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These tips are from Ayumi

Hello I’m Ayumi and today we are learning the do’s and the don’ts of roleplaying. It will be a nice little list of how to learn. So let’s get started! The first don’t of roleplaying is, “When someone doesn’t want to roleplay, don’t roleplay with them.” If this happens, you might scream at them and get mad...no..that’s bad. What to do when someone has their requests closed, it’s polite to follow their rules. Here’s an example of what not do below, along with the right thing to do.

”Do you want to rolpayssss! Plsss!” Said Levi_Chan44. “My requests are closed. No thank you.” Said Eren Yeager. Levi_Chan gets really angry and starts throwing a tantrum. “How dare you! You meanie! Blocked!!” Said Levi_Chan44.

Now for what you should do

“Hiii want to rolepaysasss with mehhhh!” Levi_Chan44 asks Eren again. “No thank you my requests are closed.” Eren said. Levi types up a respond. “Oh sorry my bad. Maybe when your requests are open?” Levi_Chan44 asks. “Yes of course.” Eren replied.

Another do and don’t of roleplaying dealing with not wanting to play with ocs. Don’t: Bully the into playing with your original character. That isn’t nice to do and will cause the not to roleplay. Do: Ask the that you do not want to roleplay with ocs politely. If you are just going to be rude, that’s no fun at all. Just let the down carefully explaining why. Here is an example below.

Eren and Annie are in a chat room. Playing a fun board game. Eren uses the house piece. While Annie gets a scrap of paper with googly eyes. “This my new oc paper eyes! Can I use it? Pleaseee.” Annie said. Eren frowns shaking his head. “Sorry. I don’t play with crafts. Find someone else who likes crafts.” Eren said smiling. Annie growls and flips the board game in anger. “You are no fun!” She growls.

Here is what Annie should had done.

Eren tells her no. Annie sighs and grabbed her paper oc. “Okay. Thanks for telling me.” Annie said before she leaves.

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These tips are made by Droplets

Ever stuck on how to roleplay? Never know what’s good and what’s bad? Well this is the post for you! The Lit Team will provide tips and tricks for you monthly to help you successfully roleplay. As a Lit Team member, I’m here to help you with your questions about roleplay!

Don’t control someone else’s character

This is often a problem that annoys many. When you control someone’s character without their consent, it does anger many. It’s unfair and it isn’t your character in the first place. So that’s one thing to back away from. For instance, if I was roleplaying as Ymir and the other as Historia, it’s a no-no to do something like this.

Ymir opened the door for Historia, and Historia walked in.

By saying that Historia walked in, I’m controlling the other’s character.

If you’re a canon character, act like them.

People that simply don’t act their canon character are often hard to roleplay with. Of course, if that’s your preference, I’m not judging. When roleplaying as a canon character, you don’t have to get everything perfect. But you can’t be completely out of character. For example, if I made Mikasa different form her usual personality in the manga and anime, it wouldn’t be the same.

Mikasa walked up to Jean, leaning on the wall. She planned to make conversation. “How are you?” She asked sweetly, with a smile on her face. Rosy cheeks added to her pale appearance, making it warmer.

See how.. odd that is? Unless it’s for the plot, I wouldn’t suggest playing the characters like that.

Do interact

Interacting is essential for many roleplays. When roleplaying, your character should try to interact with other characters in the roleplay. No interaction makes it difficult to roleplay. Imagine just doing actions and having thoughts for an entire roleplay? Seems tiring in all honesty.

Eren quietly approached his best friend, Armin. He snuck up on the blonde from behind, grabbing his shoulders to scare him.

See how.. odd that is? Unless it’s for the plot, I wouldn’t suggest playing the characters like that.

You’ll most likely get a reaction or response from the other if it’s direct interaction. Indirect interaction can be staring, thinking, etc. Actions that won’t directly effect the other. Indirect interaction is harder to use as the other may not respond.

Do be patient

Most roleplay partners do not like being spammed constantly for a reply. In fac, it’s annoying. So be patient for their reply in the roleplay. It’s not good to spam somebody and if taken too far, it could possibly violate the [guidelines]. You may leave a polite message to remind them, if needed. For example, just say

Hey! How are you? Should I resend my reply?

Or you could strike up a conversation with the person and steer the chat back to the roleplay.

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These tips were brought to you by Solo

Don’t - Don’t make the roleplay go by too fast.

Take everything in your roleplay at a slow pace. Rushing events will just make things chaotic and the roleplay could become messy. Do not constantly time skip because nothing is really happening at that moment, try to make it interesting.

For example, try to avoid: ‘*timeskip to a day later*’ and similar things.

Do - Put detail in your replies.

Don’t be afraid to be detailed! It could really help bring your roleplay to life. Write about the scenery, describe the objects that are around. That way your roleplay partner will find more topics to reply to, and it will automatically make you write longer sentences and paragraphs. Describing things such as the surroundings, the weather, colors, materials, sounds and even more, will greatly help the roleplay to become more and more realistic. For example:

Pictures and pieces of paper torn out of a journal were spread across the office floor. The sound of birds chirping echoing through the small and rather dusty room...

Don’t - Rush a relationship between characters

Rushing a relationship between two or more characters is a thing that commonly happens. People want to get to the close friendships and the romance as fast as possible, even if this isn’t actually the correct way of handling relationships. It can become boring rather quickly, as you haven’t had the experience of a slowly developing friendship or perhaps even romance between your characters, and will constantly be stuck doing the exact same thing. Don’t make your characters be best friends or become a couple after seeing eachother once or twice. It is understandable if the plot states that your characters have known eachother for quite some time, but otherwise try and take your time.

For example: During the span of a day, they had already become best friends. They did everything together and were inseparable.

Do - Build up a relationship!

When the characters you’re roleplaying as don’t know eachother at all, try to slowly start a friendship, one that needs its time to fully blossom. Start by having them meet eachother a few times. From there, you can decide on letting them hang out more often, make certain events happen that could make their bond stronger. When the friendship is strong enough, then you can go to the stage of a relationship, or have them stay as friends.

An example: After going on many trips together and hanging out frequently, they were slowly but surely developing a closer bond.

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These tips were made by Petra

Hello! My name is Petra Ral and I’m here to talk to you about a few Dos and Donts of Roleplaying! I hope my advice will help anyone looking to improve their abilities! I know that Roleplaying can sometimes be difficult, especially if you’re new at it and just learning, but hopefully these tips will help!

Dos

:white_check_mark: Collaborate on ideas with your RP partner!

This is imperative to a fun and detailed RP. Coming up with a solid plot and plot elements can really help the RP soar! It also keeps things interesting! At least one party, or maybe both, will quickly become bored if the plot isn’t advancing in any certain direction. Naturally you’re going to have an exposition and rising action, but if the RP constantly stays there then it won’t be very fun. Below is an example of idea collaboration:

Person A: Hello! I was wondering if you’d like to RP with me?

Person B: Of course! What characters do you usually play as and what genres of RP do you like?

Person A: Well I usually play as either Levi or Erwin and I’m a huge fan of angst, action, and romance! What about you?

Person B: I usually play as Hanji or Eren and the genres I enjoy are the same as yours! Now what should we do for our plot? What are some elements we should add to our plot?

:white_check_mark: Discuss what trigger(s) you have and what your RP partner may have!

This is also extremely important. Some materials may be too much for you or your partner to RP with. You can discuss triggers while you’re planning out your RP plot! Discussing triggers also helps with plot development! This helps both parties figure out what topics are off limits and what topics are acceptable. Below is an example:

Person A: Do you have any triggers that we should avoid in this RP? My triggers are depression and anxiety.

Person B: Yes I do! I cannot dive too deep into physical and mental abuse.

Person A: Alright! Thank you for informing me and I’ll be sure to stay away from those topics! I also ask that you please respect my triggers as well!

Donts

:x: Do not ship bash!

I have unfortunately seen this done to people far too many times. Having someone be rude to you for what you ship is not the best feeling in the world. You are of course entitled to your own opinion, but don’t make fun of/judge someone for shipping something that you don’t. Also don’t be rude to them if you want to do a certain ship and they aren’t interested in that ship. Discuss what ships you like, listen to the ships they like, and then both of you can decide on a ship you both enjoy! Below is an example of what NOT to do:

Person A: Hello! I was wondering if you’d like doing a romance RP with me? The ships I enjoy are Ereri and Jeankasa!

Person B: Gross! I can’t believe you ship those two! Don’t message me!

or

Person A: I read through the wiki on your profile about your RP rules. You only do Mikasa x Annie and Hanji x Levi? Really? That’s so lame and pathetic.

:x: Do not pretend to be something you’re not!

This is also something I’ve encountered a lot. Someone will post that they’re, for example, looking for a Literate RP with good detail and multiple paragraphs. Someone will comment and say that they’re interested in doing that RP and they can match that style. Person A and Person B get into an RP in private message and Person A will send multiple literate paragraphs and Person B will only send a few lines. This can be very irritating to the person that asked for the certain RP.

Now please don’t confuse this as me saying someone will be intolerant of your RP style. I’m simply saying if someone is asking for a certain style and you don’t match that style, don’t approach them claiming you RP that.

Person A: I am looking for someone who can do Novella style writing with good grammar and a lot of detail!

Person B: I can do that! Allow me to send you a private message!

(This is where it continues on to where Person A writes in a Novella style and Person B responds in a Semi-Literate style. Person A gets irritated and Person B gets offended and thinks Person A is bashing their RP style.)

I hope you found my advice helpful! Thank you for taking the time to read this and have fun with your future roleplays!

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These tips were brought to you by Toga

Hello! My name is Toga and I’m currently new to Lit Team but I decided to try and go for these event anyways. Gotta show I actually wanna be here, you know? Any who, here are 2 Dos and Don’ts in roleplaying.

The Dos of Roleplay

Do make sure that the person or people you are roleplaying with are okay with how you roleplay.

This might seem irrelevant but it’s actually important. Some people do get upset when people in group chats roleplay a different way then others. There is nothing with being illiterate. So here is how you can make sure that you are and others are okay with how you roleplay.

Say you go into a chat, ALWAYS read the description. Sometimes it will say what kind of roleplay it is (illiterate, literate, semi-literate, and sometimes advanced literate). Even if you roleplay something other than what it says, you can always try to change yours to fit the requirement. If it doesn’t say anything of the sorts than you can just watch the chat for a moment before ing. Is there a lot of illiterate or semi-literate in there? If so then maybe it’s not for you, but you can still and try to in. If they start to complain then leave, if not you may continue to roleplay. Just because they can’t understand you’re roleplaying style doesn’t mean others won’t!

Do make sure when doing one on one that the other role player is aware of your style or you are aware of theirs.

Always make sure that you know what style you’re roleplaying partner is. Most literate role players, dislike roleplaying with illiterate role players. Not because they are dumb but because they would like a little more effort than one liners.

When inviting someone to do a 1:1 roleplay, you can always send them this simple starter.

Hey, I’m hoping you will be interested in roleplaying with me. I roleplay _____ and if you’d like to roleplay, feel free to me!

A lot of people just ask for a roleplay and then you don’t know what you got yourself into so always make sure you are aware of how your roleplaying partner roleplays.

The Don’ts of Roleplay

Don’t pressure someone to reply quickly.

If you aren’t very patient when it comes to roleplays, especially roleplays you like, don’t pressure the other person to respond. Let them take there time because otherwise you’ll seem rude and their either gonna be mad at you or give you a really bad response to the roleplay, which is never good. You can always remind them about the roleplay but never tell them too. For example.

Hey! I’m just here to remind you that it is your turn. Take your time, I’m in no rush. Just here to remind you that I’ll be here waiting!

This is why it’s good to have multiple roleplaying partners.

If you get tired of waiting, nicely let them know. Don’t just up and leave the chat. That’s rude.

Hey, it’s been weeks since you replied to the roleplay and I get you’re busy but if you don’t respond soon then I’m going to have to give up on this roleplay.

In most cases they will tell you why it’d taken them so long and in others they’ll be rude and leave. Oh well.

Don’t have run on sentences to try and make you’re response longer.

Oh boy. I’m tackling a big one here. This happens a lot of the time to people who are illiterate and are trying to become literate. Which is totally understandable, BUT slowly work you’re way up there. Don’t force yourself to become literate quickly.

This is an example of a run on sentence:

The sky was so pretty that day that it had brought the blonde to tears she couldn’t old them back as it was so beautiful.

Yes this can lengthen your paragraph but it makes no sense. It goes on and on, BUT you can always turn your run on sentence to a couple sentences that one: makes it longer and two: makes it more understandable.

The sky was so pretty that day that it had brought the golden blonde to tears. The wet substance continued to come as she stared at it. It was truly beautiful.

That’s all I have for you! Hope you enjoyed and have a nice day! you are all beautiful!

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These tips were made by Narnia

Hello, here are some do’s and don’ts of Rp for me.

Here are some Do’s

•Have a weakness. It’s always more interesting for someone to have a weakness. Mikasa even has a weakness.

: The titans were pouring in. About two to the right and one to the left. She didn’t know if she’d be able to get past them. Going after the six-meter Titan she used her gear to grapple and slice its nape. Only to be grabbed by the next Titan.

Take things slowly and explain. Much easier to understand.

•: once having all the supplies ready, they set out. The trip was long. Sitting on a horse for six hours. Only stopping here and there for short minutes. The sun was lowering when they arrived. Dismounting and using the gear for the rest of the way. They were outside the castle. Waiting for orders.

Donts

Don’t let your character be too overpowered. It can take the fun away. Like I said, even Mikasa has flaws.

•:He stood on the rooftops. Blades drawn and looking at the twelve titans. Drawing his blades he charged. Slicing their napes. In a few minutes six already lay dead.

Don’t rush things. It can be hard to follow along.

•:The trip took six hours. They got to the castle and stormed in.

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These tips were made by Armin

When roleplaying, what you absolutely DON’T want to do is control your partner’s character. If the other person is in the middle of doing something, and you force their character into doing something else, it not only will mess things up on the roleplayers side but it’s also a bit controlling. Giving your partner control over their own character will make the roleplayer feel a little more at ease and the roleplay could be more interesting since you won’t know what’s coming your way.

Example: Eren went away from the HQ and transformed into a titan, letting out a loud, huge roar. After doing so, the other scouts came and helped him while Levi zipped to his shoulder, eventually losing his balance and falling off, hurting his leg. (The other roleplayer being Levi while your character is Eren. You stated Levi oth fell and hurt his leg, when the person role playing him may have had something else in mind, causing a huge problem.)

Something that you will want to do is add as much detail as possible without making the sentence sound choppy and/or a run-on. Adding details doesn’t just give your partner(s) a better understanding of the setting/what you’re doing, but it can also add some length to your response, which looks good on your side.

Example: For it to be the morning time, the sun shone brightly around the HQ. This blare of light caused a blonde boy, addressed by Armin Arlert, to awaken from his slumber. He sat up and wiped his eyes, letting out a small, tired yawn. He stood up and walked over to the doors of the building, pushing the doors open to feel the warmth of the outdoors. ‘Today’s going to be a good day.’ He stepped outside to get some fresh air and smiled brightly, enjoying the beautiful summer weather.

One huge thing I see happen VERY often is other roleplayers using words that are used in text, and not actual English language, which is something you DON’T want to do. This may sound confusing so allow me to give a bit of context.Using things such as ‘lol’ , ‘uwu’ , or ‘xdxd’ are not actual words, but things you can use in text. Unless the roleplay isn’t so serious (such as literate role plays and such) then you may not have to worry about this, but it is strongly encouraged.

Example: Mikasa walked alongside her two best friends, Eren and Armin, to the training grounds to meet some of the other cadets to train with, some probably already there. She turned and looked at Eren, then glancing over at Armin. “Hey, Armin, you sure you want to come? Lol, I figured you’d want to do something different uwu, so I just asked.” She turned forward as they reached the training grounds, waiting for her friends answer.

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These tips were brought to you by Bert

Do- Stay in Character

If you are role-playing as a Canon Character like Eren, you should act like that character when role-playing. For example, Eren is a very determined character. He will do whatever it takes to eliminate all Titans. He wouldn’t be a quiet character that tends to keep to himself all the time.

Don’t- Avoid quotation marks

I’ve been seeing this a lot lately and I thought I should say something about it. When you are role-playing in a Semi literate to a literate role-play and your character is speaking, don’t skip quotation marks. It gets confusing and we wouldn’t know if your character is speaking or not.

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These tips were brought to you by Lotus

The dos and don’ts of role play

Hi there! The name’s Lotus, a member of the Lit team! Today I will be giving you a few of the dos and don’ts of roleplay. First off, if you’re trying to role play in the literate or semi lit style, it’s good to use detailed language in your responses. A good technique to use is one called ‘show don’t tell’. This basically means instead of just saying what the character is doing directly, e.g ‘Armin loved books’ and instead using a more descriptive version such as, ‘Picking up a new book always brought a smile to Armin’s face. The endless knowledge that was contained with their white pages drew him in like a moth to a flame.’ Another ‘do’ for literate/ semi literate roleplaying to me is a key feature. When using speech in your replies, use “” to indicate it. I know it may seem a bit obvious, but I’ve had my fair share of experience when speech is not separated. Using “” makes it so much easier for others to understand what’s speech and what’s not.

Now onto the don’t’s. When roleplaying in the semi lit/ literate style, try your best to portray your character correctly. If you aren’t experienced with a certain character that’s totally ok! Just try not to make them the exact opposite of how they actually act. E.g don’t make Levi act like some cuddly teddy bear, or Sasha a harsh, serious person. Another thing to avoid is using repetitive language. Using the same phrase repeatedly can get old real fast. Using a variety of literary devices and phrases can make for a really well formulated starter, instead of repeating the same phrases over and over.

Sasha’s eyes lit up the moment she stepped through those mahogany double doors. The atmosphere was so bright and friendly the brunette couldn’t help but smile. Excitable chatter from cheery cadets rang throughout the hall, creating a gauze of sound around them. The room seemed to be completely packed today, hardly room enough for one more person to sit. But, the cheery atmosphere wasn’t the only reason the mess hall was so great in her eyes, it was the delicious smell of baked potatoes and fresh soup that drew her here so quickly each day.